Record device.



No. '785,885. PATENTED MAR. 28, 1905. 0. L.- HUTOHISON.

RECORD DEVICE.

APPLIOATiOH FILED 00T- 1904.

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UNITED STATES Patented March 28, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

RECORD DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 785,885, dated March 28, 1905.

Application filed October 4, 1904. Serial No. 227,165.

To all whmn it may GUI/106T:

Be it known that 1, CLAUDE L. HUTOHISON, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Joseph, in the county of Buchanan and State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Record Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My invention pertains to books and covers; and it has for its object to provide a device upon which a bookkeeper, paying-teller, or other functionary in a bank or similar institution may conveniently keep a record of checks upon which payment has been stopped and by reference to which such functionary may readily identify and catch the checks mentioned,and this without exposing the name of the payees and the amounts of the stopped checks to the casual observer, or, in other words, without exposing anything but the requisite data for the identification of the checks viz., the names of the drawers of the checks and the dates and numbers of the same.

\Vith the foregoing in mind the invention will be fully understood from the following description and claim when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation of the record device constituting the present and preferred embodiment of my invention, and Fig. 2 is a transverse central section of the same.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in both views of thedrawings.

As illustrated in the drawings, my novel record device comprises a cover and a plurality of leaves held in the cover. The cover is made up of a back board a, of leather or other suitable material, having a keeper-eyelet I) at a point adjacent to its upper edge, a front board 0, having a narrow upper portion (Z and a portion 0 flexibly connected at e to and depending from the left-hand end of the said narrow portion (Z and also having a tubular fastener member f extending from the narrow portion (Z and designed to be sprung into and out of the keeper-eyelet b of the back board and passed through apertures in the leaves, and a flexible top g, connecting the upper edges of the back board a and the front l l board 0 and designed to permit of the latter being swung away from the former, as when it is desired to interpose leaves between the said boards. The fastener member f is preferably tubular in order that it may be placed directly upon a nail or else connected to a nail through the medium of the loop 71, so as to suspend the device in full view of the functionary whose province it is to stop the payment of checks in accordance with directions of the drawers thereof.

The several leaves of the device are shaped as best shown in Fig. 1that is to say, the forward leaf is shaped to expose portions of all of the leaves back of it, as are also the several leaves in succession to the back. For instance, the forward leaf has a portion 11 at the left corresponding in area to and adapted to normally rest under the portion 6 of the front board 0, a shorter portion 7, designed to be exposed at the right of the cover portion 0, and

a narrow top portion A, designed to rest under.

the narrow top portion (Z of the front board or cover The second leaf from the fronthas a portion Z exposed below the portion of the front or forward leaf. The third leaf from the front has a portion m exposed at the right of the portion jof the front leaf. The fourth leaf from the front has a portion a exposed at the right of the portion 7' of the front leaf and the portion Z of the second leaf from the front and below the portion at of the third leaf. The fifth leaf from the front has a portion 1) exposed at the right of the portion Zof the second leaf from the front and below the portion a of the fourth leaf from the front and also has a portion 1 exposed at the right of the portion or of the third leaf from the front, and the sixth leaf from the front has a portion 0 exposed below the portion (1 of the fifth leaf from the front. All of each leaf, except the exposed portion or portions just mentioned,'rest under the next forward leaf, with the exception of the forward or front leaf, which, as before described, has its hidden portions behind the front board 0. The exstopped, the dates of the checks, the names of the drawers of the checks, and check-marks to indicate that the checks are paid, while the hidden portions of the leaves, which have lines forming continuations of those of the exposed portions, are designed to receive the names of the payees of the checks and the amounts thereof. The exposed portions of the leaves are designed to receive the names of the drawers of the checks arranged in proper alphabetical sequence. For instance, the exposed portion of the front leaf is designed to receive names beginning with A,the exposed portion Z of the second leaf is designed to receive names beginning with B, the exposed portion on of the third leaf is designed to receive names beginning with G, and so on throughout the number of exposed portions provided, or in lieu of devoting each exposed portion to names beginning with a certain letter each exposed portion may be devoted to names beginning with groups of letters-for instance, the exposed portion j to names beginning with A, B, or C, the exposed portion Z of the second leaf to names beginning with D, E, or F, and so on throughout the exposed portions provided, it being left to the discretion of the payingteller or other functionary to arrange the names on the several exposed portions of the leaves alphabetically, as necessity demands. When it is remembered that in large banks and similar institutions a single functionary has to do with but a portion of the accounts those, for instance, of persons whose names begin with any one of a series of letters from A to Kit will be appreciated that it is necessary to provide my novel device with but a small number of exposed leaf portions; but it is obvious that the device may be provided with any number of exposed leaf portions without involving departure from the scope of my invention.

In the practical use of my novel record device the names of the makers of checks upon which payment is to be stopped are arranged in alphabetical order on the exposed portions of the leaves, and on the same line with the names are placed the numbers and dates of the checks, while upon the same lines on the hidden portions of the leaves are placed the names of the payees of the checks and the amounts thereof. This being done and the record device suspended in front of a paying-teller or other functionary, it will be seen that the said functional-y by glancing at the device is enabled to see sufficient data to identify any check upon which payment has been stopped and catch such check. If, however,

the data exposed is for some reason not sufficient to enable the functional-y to identify a suspected check, he can by lifting the leaf above that to which he has reference display the additional data viz the name of the payee of the check and the amount thereof. It will be noticed, however, that the said additional data is normally hidden from the easual observer, as is desirable for obvious reasons.

WVhile designed more particularly as astoppayment record, I desire it understood that my novel device may be used to advantage in other connections where it is desired to expose portions of data for ready reference and hide amplifications of data from the view of the casual observer. Y

In virtue of the cover of my novel device the leaves when used up may obviously be be removed and replaced with other leaves with but a minimum amount of effort.

The flexible connection of the cover portion 0 to the portion a obviously permits of said portion a being raised from the leaves without moving the portion 0 and disturbing the connection between the fastener members.

I havb entered into a detailed description of the construction and relative arrangement of the parts embraced in the present and preferred embodiment of my invention in order to impart a full, clear, and exact understanding of the said embodiment. I do not desire, however, to be understood as confining myself to such specific construction and relative arrangement of parts, as such changes or modifications may be made in practice as fairlyfall within the scope of my invention as claimed.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

The herein-described record device comprising a plurality of superposed leaves connected together at the upper edge of the device; the relative shapes of the leaves being such that each leaf is partially hidden by the next forward leaf and serves, in turn, to partially hide the next leaf toward the back, and the exposed portions of the leaves being arranged in columns from top to bottom with the exposed portion of the foremost partially-hidden leaf in the upper left corner of the exposed area of the device and the exposed portion of the rear partially-hidden leaf in the lower right corner of the said exposed area, and each leaf being provided on its hidden portion and exposed portion with continuous lines and being also provided on its exposed portion with columns from top to bottom thereof.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CLAUDE L. HUTCHISON.

Witnesses:

W. A. EVANS, JOHN M. HEOKLER. 

